Baby Loves To Dance In The Dark
by KayleeMariee
Summary: Cloti. Under the Highwind! "If that's true Teef, show me what you're thinking." Rated T for pretty suggestive themes. R&R!
1. Chapter 1

_**I know this didn't happen. Like the majority of people I fully understand that nothing happened that night under the Highwind. But, isn't that what fanfics are all about?**_

-x-

They had decided to get a hotel room in a small town that night. Since it was only the two of them it wouldn't cost much. Cloud had also explained that they should try and get a good nights' sleep, what with the events that lay ahead of them the following day.

They could only get a hotel room with one queen sized bed, not that this bothered the duo much. As much traveling as they'd done, they were pretty used to sleeping in close quarters. Tifa rushed to claim the showed first, leaving Cloud to his thoughts. He wasn't used to having time to just sit and think. He was used to being constantly on the move, never staying in one place. But here he was, sitting with nothing to do but think. Here he was, about to spend a night in a hotel room, alone with Tifa. His stomach knotted and a lump rose in his throat. Tifa Lockhart. She was the woman who had captured his heart when he was 6 years old. He was contemplating his feelings for her when he heard the door to the bathroom open.

Tifa walked back into the room, wearing her regular outfit, scrubbing her wet hair with a towel. A shower is a wonderful thing, Tifa contemplated. She felt like a completely different person. She turned to look at Cloud, who rose from his seat on the bed and went to the bathroom to get ready to sleep. Tifa walked towards the bed and sat. Here she was, alone with Cloud. She had a feeling that tonight something would change. Their relationship couldn't stay the way it was. She lay down, facing towards the middle of the bed.

Cloud came to lie beside her minutes later. His cerulean eyes gazed into her rubies. She stared back until she couldn't bear it anymore. She looked down at her hand, fiddling with the ring on her finger.

"Tifa?" Cloud's voice cut through her thoughts and she returned her gaze to him. "Where… where did you get that ring?"

Tifa unconsciously looked at the ring on her first finger. The pewter wolf stared back at her and she felt her cheeks warm. She pushed the embarrassment out of her mind, however, knowing he wouldn't say what was on his mind unless she first opened up.

"Well, I guess, I got it from you." She told him. He looked at her, confusion flooding his expression. She smiled. "Well, five years ago, in Nibelheim, a few members of SOLDIER came to look at the reactor. In the group were Zack, Sephiroth, and two members of the military. I know now that one was you." She looked into his eyes and he nodded for her to go on. "I'm probably boring you."

He shook his head furiously. "No, I like it when you tell me stories. It helps me to sort out my own memories. Please, keep talking."

She chuckled. "Well, I was hired as a guide, despite my father's rejections. So I brought the group to the reactor, and wasn't allowed in! I was mad at the soldier who was standing guard outside the door, but I decided to talk to him anyway." Her cheeks flushed again. His eyebrows were knotted in concentration, but he continued to stare into her eyes. "So, I asked him where he was from, and he told me he was from a small town not far from Mt. Nibel. And I asked him if he ever missed it. And he said most of all; he missed a girl who was his neighbor back home. I asked about her. He said she was…" Tifa trailed off, embarrassed about what he said. Cloud's eyes had closed and he opened his mouth to speak.

"She was beautiful and funny." He said quietly. Tifa nodded at him. His eyelids opened and he pressed her on.

"I asked him if he ever sent her letters, and he laughed. He said no, he didn't think she wanted to hear from him. I punched him on the arm and said she should be happy to hear from him. He smiled at me and told me I helped him. After that Sephiroth came running out of the reactor with a crazed look on his face, and Zack came right after. Before the soldier followed them he gave me this ring, and he told me it would protect me until my hero came." She shook her head as Cloud's eyes bored into her soul. "I should have known when I found you at the station. My ring, it matches your shoulder plate."

Cloud nodded. He took her hand in his and admired the ring. Tifa stared at it too, and a sudden thought came to her.

"Cloud?"

His eyes returned to hers as he questioned her silently. "In the lifestream… you said you joined SOLDIER… to impress someone. Do you remember that?" she had nudged herself slightly closer to Cloud. He had noticed but didn't mind. He moved from his side onto his back and stared at the ceiling.

"Yeah, I remember."

She slid a little closer again. "Do you remember who?"

"Yeah, I remember that too."

She was pressed against his side. She couldn't control herself. Her nose traced the hard lines in his jaw. Cloud's eyes closed. She was driving him crazy and she knew it.

"Who was that person? Tell me." She demanded, her nose being replaced by her lips skimming his neck. His heart was racing and his answer came out in a rough whisper.

"You."

"Sorry, who?" she was enjoying herself. His face turned towards hers and his voice turned husky.

"You, Tifa." He wanted to kiss her right now, more than anything. His lips reached for hers but suddenly she was gone. He sat up straight in the bed. "Teef?" he glanced around searching for her beautiful figure in the dark. He saw her outline; she was looking out the window. He stayed where he was, sitting on the bed.

"But I was too late, wasn't I?" her voice cut through him like a knife. It was sharp, but he could feel the hurt in it, begging for a contradiction.

"What do you mean Tifa?"

She chuckled but continued to stare out the window. "I was late. She came along and picked you up. I didn't even have a chance." He could see her head fall and he wanted to comfort her. But still, he stayed put.

"No, Teef. You don't understand. The love I felt for her… wasn't my own. Zack… he was the one she saw in me. But, as for me… it was you Tifa. It was always you. I wish I could say what I'm thinking better than that, but I suck at talking."

Her head slowly lifted and he heard her soft laugh. "Cloud… words aren't the only thing that tells people what you're thinking."

"If that's true Teef, show me what you're thinking."

After those words tumbled out of his mouth everything seemed to happen in slow motion. He saw Tifa turn towards him, her raven colored hair swishing around from the movement. She started walking towards him, her intent clear on her face. This was what he'd been waiting for. Her arms wrapped around his neck and her lips collapsed onto his.

What feeling was this? Ecstasy? Love? He assumed both. Her lips explored his face, not limited to his mouth and he leaned back on the bed, pulling her with him. She lay beside him, her lips never leaving his skin. His hands traced her body from her neck down to her toned legs. He pulled her leg up and hitched it around his hip. He had never done this before, but to his surprise he felt no nerves. He just felt right. As Tifa's hands explored his torso he knew that this was what he had only just realized he wanted. He was all she wanted. He felt as though all the barriers he had put up to keep people out had crumbled the second Tifa's lips touched his. Suddenly, he couldn't get close enough to her. He always wanted to be closer.

Tifa's hand reached for the zipper of his shirt and his mind went blank. He didn't care what happened to him tomorrow. All he knew was what was happening now and nothing else mattered.

-x-

He woke up early the next morning, before the sun rose. He looked down and saw Tifa, in all her beauty, lying on his chest. He looked at the ring on her finger and memories came flooding back.

The feel of her hand on the scar on his chest.

The feel of his lips on her neck.

The feel of her entire body pressed into his.

And the feel of their limbs intertwined as he gave into all of his emotions. He was a man, after all.

His cheeks flushed and he shifted slightly, causing Tifa's eyes to snap open. She looked at him, confusion in her eyes, as though she couldn't believe what had happened.

"Hey Teef." He smiled at her. She smirked back at him. He shifted her off of his chest and onto the bed. He sat up and pulled his boxers back on.

He knew that things between Tifa and him would never be the same. But he also knew the two of them weren't quite ready to admit to their feelings just yet. They both knew, and as Tifa had said, words weren't really necessary.

-x-

_**Did you like? A little more… graphic than what I usually do but I hope you like! Please R&R I love hearing from people! Reviews pretty much make my life :)**_

_**-Kay.**_


	2. NOTE

_**Woo! I just read an article that shows that the… ahem… physical relations in this story are actually probably what happened!**_

_**Thanks to cEscalente who said:**_

Not bad. And it's not like no one ever wondered what COULD'VE happened. Even Square Enix. Check this out. Quoted from the Final Fantasy Wikia:

"The original plans for Cloud and Tifa's moment under the Highwind were far more suggestive than the final product. Following a fade-out scene, Cloud was to walk out of the chocobo stable on board the Highwind, followed by Tifa who would check around as she left. This idea was rejected for being too "extreme", and a less risque "toned down" version of the scene replaced it."

_**And, I just read an article from thelifestream . net, showing a translation of the Final Fantasy 20**__**th**__** Anniversary Ultimania Scenario:**_

_For the one I love_

_Through the long journeys, the love of the protagonists develop. Occasionally they become separated, but the two's value to one another gives them the great strength to overcome whatever crisis may come._

_**And a bit later:**_

_The night before the final battle_

_Thanks to Tifa, Cloud regains himself, and before the final battle with Sephiroth, without using words, he confirms with her that their feelings match._

Read that again. 'without using words, [Cloud] confirms with [Tifa] that their feelings match.' So, not only can we unequivocally state that these matching feelings are those of love, but that these feelings of love are confirmed without words. In other words, physically. So, yes, there was almost certainly sex under the Highwind that night. I do not wish to bore everyone with a regurgitation of all the related materials, but this does confirm that yes, Cloud and Tifa's relationship past this point are that of lovers. And that, my friends, settles the Love Triangle. Even if you don't want to believe it.

_**Wahoo! My favorite pairing!**_

_**I just figured I'd share that, showing that the over-done "under the Highwind" scene might not be as G rated as some of us thought.**_

_**Thanks!**_

_**-Kay**_


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